


Life Stands Still

by orphan_account



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 01:32:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9298253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account





	

The harsh fabric of her shirt against her skin as she tugged it on and buttoned it up. The sound of a zipper as she put on her skirt. The squeak of her heels on the floor as she slid her feet into them. The tugging feeling against her head as she pulled her hair up tight into a bun. The empty feeling she felt inside as she grabbed her coffee, caught a glance of her startling grey eyes in the mirror, and headed out the door.

Annabeth’s life had become a cycle. Get up, get dressed, go to work, come home. Every day was the same. Every day she woke up to her boring, run down apartment. She was greeted by the smell of the factory not far from her and the crack in her ceiling. She pulled herself out of bed, to the closet lined with the same shirt, and the same skirt, and the same pair of shoes. She drank coffee out of the same cracked cup from the same old coffee maker. She drove to work in the same old car, sat in the same old desk, and worked on the same old papers. She was tired of it, but at the same time, the cycle had become familiar. A safety net to fall back on, a way to assure herself that nothing bad would happen. A way to block out everything else, so she wouldn’t go through the pain of losing someone again. Not after Percy.

She’d been young and naive when she fell in love. Fresh out of college, proud of her degree in architecture, excited to go out into the world and build a life, to build something permanent. She moved into a small apartment, she set herself up a life. She made friends, fell into a comfortable rhythm, a rhythm that was good. She found a part time job at a cafe, where she met her best friend, Piper. She was happy. And then, Percy walked into her life.

She met him at the cafe. It was cliche, but it felt perfect. Piper introduced them, and she fell instantly. His dark hair and his sea green eyes. And later, after getting to know him, she fell for his personality. He was funny, and beautiful not in a way that reflected his outward look, but in the way he made her feel. In the things he said and the way he treated people around him. He made her laugh, he brightened up her day. He treated her like she was his world, and she did the same for him. She loved him and he loved her and everything was good.

They dated for months. The best months of Annabeth’s life, or so she felt at the moment. They went out often, Percy would meet her after work and take her somewhere different every day; always something exciting, always shattering Annabeth’s expectations. After five months Percy asked her to move in. She was so excited, she packed her stuff up and moved out of her tiny apartment, into a flat with Percy. For her birthday that year, he got her a puppy. A beautiful little pug she named Bailey, a ball of energy that brought more excitement to their lives.

They were happy, Annabeth was happy. Everything was great. She’d just gotten a job offer to help design a museum, and then Percy proposed. She’d squealed and said yes and called everyone she knew. Piper had immediately jumped in, ready to help her with the wedding planning. They’d been planning when she got the call. Percy had been on his way home from work, planning to meet them to discuss the cake. He was 15 minutes late when her phone rang. She picked it up expecting to hear the voice of her fiance, telling her why he was running late. Instead, she heard the voice of a paramedic telling her there had been an accident, and they were rushing him to the hospital. By the time Annabeth and Piper arrived, Percy was dead. Annabeth sobbed in Piper’s arms for a long time, before she let Piper take her home, and cancel the wedding plans.

Annabeth’s life became the cycle it was now after that. She got up, got dressed, and went to her new boring office job. She ignored every text Piper sent, boxed up all the old photos of her and Percy. She gave Bailey to Nico and Will, for looking at the dog she had come to love reminded her of what she had lost. She let herself get distracted by her work, drowning out the world around her with the stacks of papers she filled out and sorted every day. She let herself get lost.

Piper was sick of it. She was sick of her best friend ignoring her, sick of her drowning out the world, living in such an unhealthy cycle, letting herself get buried in her work. So, she staged an intervention. She drove her car to Annabeth’s apartment one day, using the spare key under the mat to let herself in. She grabbed Annabeth by the arm, insisting that they go shopping, practically dragging her out.

For nearly 3 months Piper did this every Saturday. Every weekend she’d let herself into Annabeth’s apartment, and drag her to the mall, or to dinner, or to the movies. Anything to get her out of her cycle, anything to break the walls. At first, Annabeth hated it. But as time passed, she began to love it more and more, glad to have her spontaneous life back, if only for one day a week. Then, Piper asked her out for dinner. “Like a date.” She clarified, her hands in her pockets as she rocked back and forth in the doorway to Annabeth’s apartment. Annabeth hesitated for a moment, before agreeing. They went out, had fun, and at the end of the night, as they stood in front of Annabeth’s apartment doorway, Piper kissed her goodnight.

A month later, Annabeth moved in with Piper. She packed her few items up and moved out of her small, cramped apartment. They loaded her stuff into Piper’s car, and she left. She quit her office job, and soon got an offer for a job in architecture. She built herself a new life with Piper. They painted their new house together, they spent as much time as possible with one another. They adopted a cat, whom Piper named Jimmy. And, when she was sure this was what she wanted, Annabeth proposed. They were together, they were happy, and Annabeth was okay.


End file.
